Variable pitch propeller



Oct, 24, 1939.

H. H. PLATT VARIABLE PITCHPROPELLER Filed July 3, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V ENTOR. K fiaz/l/a/zd/Z P/all BY I Q Oct. 24, 1939 v L -r 2,177,535

VARIABLE PITCH PROPELLER Filed July 5, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZZZ '38 lNVENTOR.

' BY V W C ATTORNEY..

Oct. 24, 1939. H. H. PLATT 'VARIABLE PITCH PROPELLER Fil ed July 5, 1935 3' Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. flP/aft Q Patented Oct. 2431939 UNITED; STATES PATENT oFF cE The present inventionrelates to certain new and useful variable pitchpropeller constructions for aeronautic work, as for instance, for use as traction propellers or for lift propellers or what are sometimes called rotors, or'for other airmoving propeller-like structure, and it relates more particularly to variable pitch propeller orv rotor constructions wherein the. pitch may be automatically maintained and/or varied, and

whereby manual control may be superimposed upon the automatic control at the will of the operator. The present invention further relates to certain novel mechanism or'means for providing the necessary power ,for effecting the pitch changes desired, which means or mechanism (sometimes regarded as a servo mechanism), though'capable of providing substantial power, will still be fully responsiveor sensitive to both the automatic as well as the manual controls. go It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable pitch propelleror, rotor which would automatically adjust itself in pitch in such a way as to tend to maintain constant, engine speed or constant R. P. M., and which may be to the speed of. the "propeller;-this latter being for the purpose of permitting a setting of the I blades at a negative angle and the speeding up of the engine forbraking or for slowing down the.

vehicle in landing, either as it is. about tocon- I tact the ground or after it; has contacted the is formed with. any suitable hub housing shown ground to -shorten the run. or for the purpose of setting the pitch of a propeller to a neutral or approximately 90 setting in the event of engine failure and engine stoppage while in'flight 4 to reduce the drag of'the stalled propeller.

with the above and other objects in view which will appear, more fully. from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, the present invention consists of a central hub or 15 supporting structure adapted to bemounted upon the propeller shaft, rotor shaft, rotor 'pivot or the like, and having two or more propeller blades,

, *orrotor blades pivotally mounted therein with theblade roots adapted to be engaged simultaw" .neously 'for" rotation inunison with each other;

- f a servo mechanism for rotatingthe blades to effect their pitch variations, which servo mechanism derives its source of-power' as a'result of the rotation of the propeller, either relative to f b6 theeusine housing or relative to the air'flowing.

past the propeller, and rotary-speed responsive means foractivating said'servo mechanism in either. one of two directions, and manually operable control means for activating said servo,

mechanism in either one of two directions. 5

The present inventio'nfurther consists of other novel features as well as forms and details of construction which will appear more fully from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 10

rotor embodying the present invention with the 15 propeller blades shown on either side broken away. Figure'Z represents a fragmentary sectionon line 2-2 of Figure 1 on a somewhat enlarged scale. i

Figure 3 represents a cam outline or cam diagram of'the stop control cam.

Figure 4 represents another embodiment of the present invention showing the modified form of; servo drive and showing the modified form of manual control. I

Figure 5 represents a fragmentary top plan view of the manually operable control means.

Figure 6 represents a fragmentary top plan view of another form of manually operable control means embodying the present invention.

- Figure 7 represents an end view of the servo drive blade or servo drive impeller forming part of Figure 4.

The propeller or rotor of the present invention particularly in Figure 1, which is preferably formed in two halves marked 6 and I respective- .ly, or which may be otherwise suitably divided for assembly or construction purposes, andhav- 40 ing the blades 8 and 9 rotatably mounted therein and having a servo housing 8 formed thereon either integrally or attached thereto at approximately a 90 angle, or at any other suitable point between the blades and having a suitable coun- -te'rweightl0 generally opposite to the servo hous- I ,ing to counteract the centrifugal'force 'of the servo mechanism upon the hub or upon the axis of rotation; the center ll representing the center and the hub housing flanged over as at ll, to inas mounted upon the hub structure, as for instance,

terlock with the enlarged flange of the blade root, and any suitable anti-friction type of thrust bearing, as for instance, bearing l4 or the like interposed between the interlocking flanges of the blade roots and the hub housing. The hub structure may also be formed with blade lugs 'li projecting into the hollowed blade roots to give further alignment and pivotal support and pivotal bearing to the blade. Each bladeroot also carries fixedly attached thereto a bevelled gear I or a segment thereof of suflicient arcuate or circumferential extent to encompassthe range of pitch variation or blade rotation desired.

Within the servo housing 9, two oppositely revolving driving clutch discs l1 and II are rotatably mounted about, a common axis, that is, the

axis of the servo housing ;thesedriving clutch discs being mounted upon any suitable antifriction type bearings l9 and carried by the housing structure as shown, or in any other suitable manner;the two, driving clutch discs l1 and I8 being driven constantly (while the propeller has rotational speed or while there is an air flow through the propeller axially thereof depending upon the type of power source used.

as will be described more in detail hereinafter).

by the ball bearing or any other suitable anti-friction bearing 28. To give motion to the gear train 22 and. hence to the driving clutch discs I! and l8, the driving ring gear 23 is maintained in motion relative to the propeller hub either by :anchoring the same (through interlocking lugs ll,

32 or otherwise) to the stationary engine housing,

, as in the form shown in Figure 2, or .by placing the gear train 22 at the mint 6: the hub (as shown in Figure 4) instead of at the back (as in Figure 2) and afflxing to 'it, through a suitable supporting spider 29, an impeller blade or device with a slight negative angle from the neutral, sothat it will develop substantial aerodynamic re-- slstance to t 28 rotation relativeto the propeller, and also to givethi? rin gear 22 rotation relative to the propeller even when the propellerhas stopped completelyfidue to the slight angle of the blades of the impeller, (that is, so long as there is axial airflow, as for instance, whenever the craft has substantial air speed while the propeller is stopped).

In'the modification shown in Figure 2, the ring gear 28 is merely mounted on the hub and a-lug 8| projecting from the engine housing interlocks with any suitable lug 32 carried by the ring gear. If desired, however, the ring gear 28 may be mounted directly on or affixed directly to the engine housing, and merely projecting into meshing alignment with there'st of the gear train 22. In'that case, the ballbearing 28.is naturally chm-.-

inated, because the ring gear member 28-would' be carried rigidly from the engine housing. by a series of rigid supports such as, for instance, the lug 3 I Thus, for instance, by providing a plurality of lugs 3i circumferentiallydistribut d nd and thus give the ring gear formed integrally with the ring 28, the ball bearing 28 and its races are eliminated. I

Within the hub portions 33 a d 34 of the clutch member l1 and I8, a driven cl tch spindle 85 is mounted upon single-race ball bearings 36 and 31 respectively, or upon any other suitable bearing mountings, for free rotation and also for a slight axial to-and-fro movement, whereby the driven clutch disc 38 carried by the clutch spin dle (and being suitably faced with any suitable friction-facings 39 and 40) may be operatively floated between the two driving clutch members l1 and l8'and whereby it may be brought intocontact" with either one or the other alternately or maintained in between the two in an inoperative position, thereby to give the clutch shaft or spindle 3S alternately opposite rotational motion or to maintain the same without rotational motion, as the case may be. The clutch spindle 35 is provided with a terminal thrust cap or member 4| connected therewith'through any suitable anti-friction type'of thrust bearing, as for instance the thrust ball bearing 42, whereby axial force may be exerted upon the spindle 85 in the direction of the arrow 48;the thrust or force exerted from without (by means to be described hereinafter) being opposed and being generally balanced by the centrifugal force acting upon the mass of the clutch spindle I! and the driven clutchdisc 28 (and also acting upon certain other associated movable parts). The thrust exerted upon the driven clutch spindle in the direction of the arrow 43 maybe provided by any yieldable' means which will increase with the displacement in one direction and decrease with-the displacement in the other direction, 'as for instance, any suitable spring such'as the helical-tension spring 45 exerting its force upon the driven clutch member- 35 in an axial direction through any suitable lever or other transmission means 46 pivoted or otherwise suitably supported asfor instance at 4'l;-an end 48 of the spring 45 being anchored to the variable or adjustable anchorage designated generally by the numeral 49 and to be described-more in detail hereinafter.

By a suitable tensioning of the spring 45 (which tension may be varied or completely eliminated as the case may be, through the control means and variable anchorage 48 to be described more in detail-hereinafter) the rotary speed (R; P. M.) at which the driven 'clutchmember 38 will be balanced in an inoperative -or intermediate position, can be regulated or determined because, as will be pointedout more indetail hereinafter, if the force exerted upon the clutch member by the spring 45 is greater than the centrifugal, it will be moved into contact with the driving clutch' member l8, while if the centrifugal force is greater, it will be moved into contact with the driving clutch member ll, thereby imparting to the "driven clutch member 38 either one of two opposite rotary motions which in turn causes a variation in the blade angle or blade pitch in a direction to correct the discrepancy between the I rotary speed of the'propeller and the spring ten-. sion by increasing or decreasing the aerodynamic resistance upon the blades.

' This blade pitch variation is accomplished by- 'a compact reduction gearing of the 'epicyclic or other suitable type whereby the rotation of the driven clutch spindle 35 is transmitted through a, suillciently great mechanical ratio to the blade roots to. impart to such blade roots opposite rotary motions proportional to but much smaller than he rotary motion of the driven clutch spindle and with suiiiciently increased force to make such blade rotations certain.

"The reduction gear shown more particularly in Figure 2 consists generally of a driving pinion 60 carried on the end ofthe driven clutch spindle 35 and a coaxially arranged and generally aligned stationary internal ring gear 6i surrounding the same and one or more planetary pinions 52 operatively interposed between the driving pinion 66 on the clutch spindle 35 and the stationary internal ring gear 5l;--the plan etary pinions 52 being in turn journalled (throughthe short pivots or spindles 53) in a planetary ring or spider 64" which is rotatably mounted inthe housing upon any suitable anti-friction bearing such as the ballbearing 55. The spindles 53 carry corresponding pinions 56 at their opposite ends which in turn mesh with the internal ring gear 51 carried-by the pivot 56 journa lled in the housing upon ball bearings or other suitable bearings 56. The internalgear-i'l also carries the bevelled gear 60 which meshes vwiththe bevel gears or bevel gear segments l6 on each of the blade roots I! whereby the rotary motion of the driven, clutch spindle I5 is transmitted oppositely but equally to the two (or more) propeller or rotor blades in proportion to the rotation of the clutch spindle 35 but much reduced in extent. The mechanical ratio between the clutch spindle 35 and the blade roots" l2 may naturally be determined according to practical requirements of any installation and the number of teeth on the various pinions and gears of thereduction gearing may be determined'according ly;no effort being made here to set out any special gear ratio or any special size gear teeth.-

et cetera, although merely for purposes of illustration, nine teeth on the pinion 56; twenty? three on each of the planetary pinions I2; fiftyfive teeth on the stationary, internal scar Sip twenty-two teeth on the-planetary pinions 56 and fifty-four teeth (in themoving internal gear 61 will produce a mechanical ratio of "6 to I in the .positive direction between the driven clutch ting of the spring (which is predetermined through the-manual control to bedescribed here--' spindle 35 and the spindle 66 or the bevelled gear 66 which meshesdirectly with the bevelled gears on the blade roots. r r

n will thus be seen that for any tens'io n-setinafter, or by the stopv dwells .of the stop. control cam 61) the pitch of the bladuyillbein creased if the R. P. M. of the propeller increases, and the pitch of the'blades'willbedecreased it the R, P. M. of the propeller 'decreases'with' respect vto the R. P. M. corresponding to the spring tension so as, to tendv to maintain thepropeller R. 'P. M. at the flgure corresponding; to the spring tension or'spring condition. Thus, 'byvarying the spring tension or by altering the spring condition or tension condition of the spring, the 11.1. M. to which. the propeller will adjust itself: automaticallyiiidinwhich the tend'into the cock-pit, sites more particularly P inted out hereinafter.

. In Figures 1, 5 and 6, a spring tension adjust mnt and control is illustrated (in' several embodimentshh In each instance, however, thespring adjustdeflection or limits of pitch variation so that angles are attained'in either direction (that is,

.This latter spring tension or spring-force control may also be madeto provide other predeterflat side 64 of the screw to prevent it from turn- .ing without, however, interfering with its lonworm gear "and is instance, at the point II. It is to be understood,

ment and control comprises twointer-related means, one of which varies the tension or thespring or the force of the spring according to the manual direction or manual control of the operator, while the other one varies or aii'ects 5 .control'of the R. P. M. (or indirectly the blade setting) while the latter being for the purpose of providing operative limits for the blade angle m the pitch varying action. of the clutch will be self-limiting within certain predetermined limits of blade variation so that the pitch adjusting action of the clutch will cease when certain blade blade angles which in practice are found to be the limits of pitch setting desirable within the automatic pitch adjustment of the propeller).

mined pitch settings for certain conditions, as for instance, when the propeller has stopped completely while the craft still has substantial air speed, as torinstance, to cause'theblades tube as.

proper support and guidance'of the operative Parts have been largely-omitted so as to minl- 1 mize the parts to bejshown and described here.

The spring anchorage 46 includes an adjustment as screw having a suitable hole at one end through which the end 48 of the spring 45- may be threaded, forpositive connection. The screw or stem 63 may be provided with two flatsides 64 whereby the screw may be guided or retained against :1 turning, although any other suitable conventional mearis may be provided for guiding the screwv 63 against turning. In the-illustration shown, however, the screw 63 is embraced, along its fiatsidesby the two parallel-faced prongs of the forked end. 65 of a bell-crank or other suitable lever pivoted at 61 with the spaced parallel sides of the prongs being suflicientlyclose to the Y gitudinal movement. The screw 63 is threaded through a correspondingly threaded internal and axial hole in the hub portion 68 of any suitable provided-with a head so at itsend to act as a stop for the threading ot the screw 63 and worm gear 69 relative to each other: In one direction the stop 10 abuts the-- inner-shoulder ii -the gear 66, while in the opposite direction it may abut. the housing 6 as for however,..that other suitable stops may be pro- I vided for this purpose. V Thus; for instance,-bymaking the pitch of the screw 63 sui'llcientlygreat (using multiple thread screw, it necessarynthe iull adiusting'relationship betweenscrew and worm gear may be -ef-' fected in Ju Sl ghtly less than a full revolution of the worm gear, so that a stop may be put -on the worm gear which will prevent itfrom rotating too far in either direction. In that case, it may be necessary to increase the'mechanical ratio between the driving ineans and the worm gear.

Theforked end 65 of the lever 66 bears against the hub of the worm gear- 69, and combined with such worm gear constitutes the spring abutment y,

or anchorage for the spring 45. The opposite end I! of the lever 6B is in the nature of a cam follower which rides on and is yieldably maintained in contact with the periphery of the cam shaft is provided to give a prolonged contact 1 6| provided on the root of one of the: blades, as for instance, the blade 9, so that a rise or fall of the cam 6i will produce a corresponding increase or decrease in the tension of the spring 45. Independently of any, setting of the lever 66 and supplemental to such setting, the spring tension is then further variable-by turning the worm gear 59 in either one of two directions through the driving worm .13 constantly in mesh 7 16, the periphery of which is adapted to be engaged from either one of two diametrically oppos site points by either one or the other of the two contact shoes II or 18 carried on the ends of the .rocker arm I! pivoted at ;the rocker arm 80 being in turn controlled through any suitable cable control 8! or any other suitable control; extending to the cockpit within reach of the pilot.

When the rocker arm is deflected in one direction (by means. of the manually. operable cable control) the outer shoe II will momentarily contact'the periphery of the friction wheel with each revolution of thepropeller and then impart a slight rotary motion to the friction wheel and shaft 14 with each revolution of the propeller.

When the bell crank lever I9 is deflected in the opposite direction; the-other shoe 11 will contact the periphery of' the friction wheel 16 momentarily with each revolution of the propeller and will cause an opposite rotation of the shaft 1|, thereby increasing or decreasing the spring tension through the rotation of the worm gear 69 to any desired extent:-depending only upon the length of time that either one or the other of thetwo oppositely acting friction shoes is held in operative relation. to the friction wheel.

In order to lengthen-the contact between the shoes 11 and I8 and the friction wheel IQ, the contact faces of the shoes "and II may be elongated along a curved path concentric .with or coaxial with the axis of. rotatioh of the propeller;-this elongation being of su fllcient extent between the shoe and the periphery of the friction wheel, andthe approaching ends of theseelongated shoes being preferably gradually tapered oil or inclined so that theinitial contact between the shoe and friction wheel may be more gradual and the shoes may be suitably faced with frictionprovide adequate ment with oppo unity forslippage however, as

in any clutchation.

In the embodiment one or more circumferentiallydistributed idler pinions (not shown) ion 82, though servingme necting pinions and not having a shaft 14 connected therewith, and" carried-by suitable stationary pivotal supports 00; which "msh with the with a friction disc or wheel a q" pping or frictional engageshown in mgure 5, shaft "As provided with a gear or inion, II which meshes with a rim gear 83 and isalso' indirectly geared to another-ring gear 84 throughsimilar to the gear or pinely as idle interconexternal ring gear 84 and the internal gear peller hub by suitable anti-friction bearings, as p for instance, the ball bearing 88 which supports the hub ring 89 of theme gear and the similar ball bearing ill which-supports the hub ring 9| of the ring gears 83 and 81.

The hub rings I! and Si" are provided with generally transverse annular. friction flanges .92 and 93, respectively, disposed generally at a right angle to the v tacted by the brake shoes or friction shoes 34 and respectively, carried on opposite ends of the bell crank lever 06 pivoted at 9l;this bell crank leverin turn being suitably controlled through the cable control 99 or other suitable manual control reaching to the cockpit within reach of the pilot. By a similar deflection of the bell crank lever .in either one of two directions, either one or the other of the friction flanges axis of rotation, which may be con- 92 and 93 is engaged, causing a complete or parpendingsomewhat upon the slippage or the pressure with which the brake shoe is applied) which, in turn, causes a relative rotation between the propeller hub and the external ring gear 83, and thus causes a rotation of the control shaft 14, so long as either one or the other of the brake shoes is applied. deceleration of one of the flanges s: or it (and the corresponding deceleration of the hub rings 89 and Si, respectively) produces a resultant rotation on the shaft "l4 opposite to that produced by thedeceleration of the other one.

In order to release the spring tension entirely, as for instance, when the engine is throttled down completely and when the control tial stoppage of such friction flange or ring (de- It will be understood that the camit the blade almost into the plane of rotation, or in order to release the spring tension whenever the cam 0i hasreached-astop position, or whenever the manually operated spring control is advancedtowards the spring releasing position sufflciently to warrant a complete springrelease, a fixed spacer Ill. or other equivalent means may be interposed between and the lever 4, so that when the spr n tension is released. either. through thecam N or through the worm gear as to the point where the distance between lever B is equal to the slonfis completely eliminated by interposition 'of the spacer member. This may be dalrablein order that the release of the Spring tensionmay be obtained with much less change in sprin tension than would otherwise be necessary. This also reduces the-amount of reouired in the .cam and the amount of turning spacer III. the spring tenthe cam shape shown is merely illustrative, as the exact cam shape is a mere matter of particular design for anyidesired condition or conmachinedesign. a A ln l 'igure 3; the blade cord is designated'by the line Ill, and the axis of rotation of the propeller isrepresentedby the numeral ll, while the axis of blade rotationand cam rotation is, the center point m. i

The blade cord iOiis shown in the spring anchorage 83 the spring anchorage and the required of the gear." In'Figure 3, a. more: or less atic representation of the cam ii is shown, although it is to be understood that struction within the scope'ofi anyone skilled in the operative in what may be regarded as a. minimum nor- -mal operative position. The cam portion I03 having a uniform radius dwell allows for pitch variations of that extent from what may be regarded as themain blade setting in normal operation; When the blade pitch isdecreased below that, for instance, indicated by the angle In or when it is increased beyond that indicated by the angle 105, a corresponding cam follow or can rise, respectively, is encountered by the cam follower 12, thereby decreasing the spring tension or. increasing the spring tension respectively, so as to stop the further turning of the blade, and thereby forming a self-limiting stop to the blade turning in either direction.

When the spring tension has been completely released through the cam drop indicated over the that the cam follower I2 has reached the low point or spring releasing point WI. "when the .driving clutch member i1 is generally opposed in eithendirection, the .driven clutch member vcomes in contact with either one. or the other angle Hi6, tension can again be imparted to the spring by the manual control means which can pull the anchorage screw down notwithstanding tension is thus again imparted to the spring by the manual means, a further decrease of the blade angle. may be eifected until anegative.

blade angle is obtained for braking purposes or for decelerating the craft at landing. This blade angle-decrease into the negative continues until the cam follower 12 goes down the second stop portion Hi8 of the cam which again releases the spring tension.

somewhat as follows 'In operation, that is, either while the propeller has rotation, as in the modification illustrated in Figure 2, or while the craft has air speed, as in the modification illustrated in Figure 4, the

The mode of operationmay .be considered two driving clutch members I! and i8 rotate continuously in opposite directions, and unless brought into contact with either of thesetwo oppositelyrevolving clutch members, the driven clutch member 38 will be-stationary in relation to the epicyclic or other reducing gear contained within'the servile housing.

The centrifugal force on the .driven' clutch member 38 and its associated movable parts con-*- tinuously urges the driven clutchmember 38 tov f wards the driving clutch member I! while the propeller is in rotation and'with a force dependent upon the speed of rotation of the propeller. This centrifugal force tending to establish con tactbetween the driven'clutch member-and the by the force of the" spring 45 except when such spring is completely released;the opposing spring force being dependent upon the two more or less independent spring fittings (one through.

ghe cam and one through the worm gear). for

. very spring setting, there is a deflniteR. .-P-. M.

at which the spring force is balanced bythe centrifugal force corresponding to that =3. P. M. When this balanced R. PLM. is deviated from of the driving member 11 or I. depending on whether the R. P. M. has increased or decreased from the balanced R. P..M. and this in turn increases or decreases the bladeangle to impose upon .the blades more or less aerodynamic resistance;the increase inblade angle giving itgreater aerodynamic resistance to-rotation, while the decrease of bladeangle giving it less'aero-' dynamic resistance to r tation. This self-adlust-- ment or automatic. adjustment of blade angle to maintain anypredeterminedR. P. M. takes place still maintaimn through the normal operation ofthe device so that by manually setting the spring tension, the R. P. M. of the propeller is automatically set or determined. When a device embodying the present invention is applied to an airplane of the air speed, the aerodynamic resistance to rotation (forthe given low blade angle) would benat urally decreased and hence, the propeller would.

tend to increase in speed. This; however, is automatically counteracted and compensated for by an automatic increase of blade angle as the speed of the craft increasea so that the aerodynamic resistance to rotation will be maintained substantially the same and the R. P. M. of the propeller maintained substantially the same, that is, the speed at which the engine may be expected. to operate most eifectively for the flight conditions, and thereby also settingthe propeller tov an angle which will make the propeller-mosteifective for the particular air speed. Thus, it will be seen thatas the air speed of the craft increases, a higher blade angle is desir ;able and is obtained in this automatic fashion. The converse will also follow that as the 'air speed of the craft is reduced in any condition of flight or maneuver, the blade angle will be correspondingly reduced so that the blade angle will be self-adjusting to any phase of flight operation o r maneuver;-tending to maintain the RP. M.- constant. I

As the desirable R. P. M.- for difierent conditions-of operation varies somewhat through the manual control the different desirableR. P. M.s-

may be obtained. Thus, for instance, for cruising, a somewhat lower R. P. M. maybe more de-l sirable than for take-0B, which as stated, can

be effected by the manual control.

As the throttle is reduced or as the engine is throttled down to mere idling speed of the engine,.without, however, reducing the R. P. M.-

setting of the pitch control mechanism, the blade angle will be decreased automatically in an eifort to increase the R. P. M., but as the R. P-1d. is-

then limited. to the idling speed of-the engine,

the decrease-of pitch continues until and only until thecam follower. rides down the drop. I06 1 of the cam 6l causing a release of the tension 'of'the spring 45 and causing the driven clutch member to fly outwardly and away from the driving clutchmember L8, thereby stopping the further decrease of blade angle and maypossibly also bring the driven clutch member with the 1 outer driving clutch member with more or less pressure thereby possibly to. rotate the driven clutch memberin the reverse direction slightly.

The driven clutch member may oscillate to and fro or may stop in an intermediate position but g thejminimum blade angle po- .sition. lflwhi le the engine is'soidling, as for instance, on the ground or in any other phase of operation, the /throttle should she closed, the driven clutch member may stop in anintermjediate position but still maintaining the minimum idling, as for instance, on the ground or in any other..-phase of operation, the throttle should be increased again, this will increase the R. P. M.

. 7o bladeangle position. If while the engine is so and increase the bladeangle until the. R. P.1d. is

6. reaches the balanced point corresporiding to the manually controlled spring setting. I

Ii it is desired to utilize the power of the engine as a forceful brake to decelerate the for- 4 engine while in flight.

ward motion ofthe craft, as for instance. at or after landing, so as to shorten the ground run,

the manual control may be further operated in the direction of blade angle decrease until the blade angle goes through the position where the bladecord is in the plane of rotation, and

then goes to a negative angle where it can be maintained with an open throttle until the cam follower reaches the lowest-point oi! the cam when the spring tension isagain released and preventing a further negative angle; In this position, a substantial braking eiiect may be obtained at relativelylow R. P. M. but with a substantial throttle opening, 1 In the event of a dead engine, the drag of the propeller oi the dead engine is undesirable,-

and to overcome this drag, it"is desirable to set the blades into a neutral angle-or a 90 pitch where the blade cord will'be substantially parallel to the airflow. To eflectthis setting-the manual control can be operated in the direction or spring tension decrease, thereby increasing the blade angle until the iollower rides onto the rise I" which causes an increase of the spring. tension and brings the blade increase to a'stop. at approximately 90, This alsois a m ti st p- In the modification shown in Figures 1 and 2,

the setting of the blade angle into this neutral position is dependent upon the actuation of the; servo mechanism, which actuation in turn is It is to be understood that the drawings accompanying this description are merely illustrative oi the invention, and that dimensions, proportions, and even details of construction may vary widely in'actual construction, all within the scope oi. the ordinary skill'ot machine designers. Obviously, also, many of the means here shown can be replacedby any one oi-its several mechanical equivalents, some 0! which have been here. shown, and most of which however,-have not been shown or described. Likewise, while the present invention is shown and described here in relation tospne type of prope1ler,,it is to be understood that it is equally applicable to other types of propellers or rotors,

both for propulsion andllit.

Having thus described the invention, what is hereby claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A variable pitch propeller including a hub,

a plurality oi blades adiustably carried by said hub, a servo mechanism carried by the hub, said servo including a pair or oppositely revoluble and juxtaposed driving clutch members, means for actuating said driving clutch members during normal operation, a

driven clutch member operatively disposed between said pair of juxtaposed and oppositely revoluble driving clutch members, said driving clutch members and driven clutch member having acommonaxisdisposedtransversely oifthe bers.-

axis of rotation of the propeller, driven and driving clutch members being arranged for axial movement relative to each other for causing frictional engagement between either or said driving/clutch members and said driven clutch member depending on the direction of relative displacement, operative connections betweenthe rootsof the blades and said driven clutch-membet, and yieldable means opposing the centriiugal force acting upon. the axially movable-clutch member to oppose its outward displacement; 1 2. A variable pitch propeller including a hub,

, a plurality of blades adiustably carried by said hub, a servo mechanism carried by the hub,

said servo mechanism including a pairotppl e sitely revolubleand juxtaposed driving clutch members, external .means for actuating said driving clutch members during normal operation, a driven clutch-member operatively disp'omd between said pair or. juxtaposed and oppos'ltely revoluble driving clutch members, said driving clutch member and driven clutch memher having a common axis disposed transversely of the axis of rotation 01' thepr'opeller, said driven and driving clutch members being arranged for axial movement relative to each other for causing frictional engagement :between either; of said driving clutch members andsaid' drivenclutch -member dependingon the ldirection of. relative displacement, operative connections between the roots or the blades and said driven clutch mem her, and yieldable means opposing the centrifugal force acting upon the axially movable clutch member to oppose its outward displacement, and manually operable control for varyinglthe ei- Iectiveness of said yieldable opposing 3. A variable pitch propeller including a hub,

a plurality-oi blades adiustab'ly carried by said hub, centriiugally responsive servo mechanism carried bysaid hubv transversely o fthe axis oi rotation of the propeller for turning said blades about their respective axes, said servo mechanism members adapted to rotate. continuously in the normal use of the propeller, and a driven clutch member adapted for frictional engagement only with said driving clutch members, the engage-, -ment and disengagement of said driven clutch member with either or said driving clutch mem-A bers being effected by centriiugal Viorce and spring rorceopposed thereto..

4. a variable pitch propeller a plurality of blades adiust'ably carried by said hub, and eentritugally responsive servo mechanism carried by said hub for turning, said blades about" their respective axes, saidservo mechanism including a pair of oppositely revoluble clutch members adapted to revolve conflnuously in the normal use of the propeller, and

a driven clutch member adapted for frictional.

including a hub, 4

including two oppositely rotating drivin 'elutch engagement only with said driving clutch mem- 5. A variable pitch propeller including'ahub, a

plurality of blades adiustably carried'by said hub, and centriiugally responsive servo mechanism for turning said blades about their 'respective axes, Y

said servo mechanism being generally eccentrically carried by said hub in the plane of rotation of said propeller and adapted to revolve about said propeller axis, and including mechanical driving means and centriiugally responsive bladeturning clutch means driven bysaidldriving means, and connected by gearing with the roots of said blades, said clutch means being rotatable about an axis transverse to the axis of rotation of the propeller.

6. A variable pitch propeller including a hub,

a plurality of blades adjustably carried by said hub, centrifugally responsive servo mechanism for turning said blades about their respective axes carried. by'said hub in the plane of rotation of said propeller and adapted to revolve about said propeller axis, and including mechanical driving means and centrifugally responsive blade-turning clutch means driven by said driving means and connected by gearing with the roots of said propeller axis, and including mechanical driving 'means and centrifugally responsive blade-turning clutch means driven by said driving means and connected by gearing with the roots of said blades, said clutch means being rotatable about an axis transverse to the axis of rotation of the ranged to be continuously rotated during forward propeller and an impeller for driving said bladeturning means, said impeller having a negative angle with respect to the propeller blade angle, 8. In fluid borne craft, a variable pitch propeller including a hub, a plurality of blades adjustably carried by said hub, servo mechanism carried by said hub for turning said blades about their respective axes, said servo mechanism including mechanically driven rotatable means armovement of said craft and centrifugally responsive means connected to the roots of said propeller blades by gearing amd arranged directly to engage and disengage said continuously rotated means, both the aforesaid means being rotatable about a common axis transverse to the axis of rotation of said propeller, and manual control means extending into the cockpit and operable while in flight for varying the rotary speed at which said centrifugally responsive means will operatively engage .and disengage said conpropeller into a source of energy constantly avail-' able for turning said blades about their respective axes, saidmechanical means being continuously rotatable relative to the shaft of saidpropeller, and centrifugally responsive means connected to the roots of the blades by gearing directly engageable with and disengageable from said rotary mechanical means for varying the pitch of said blades,,and manual control means extending into the cockpit and operable while in flight for varying the rotary speed at which said servo mechanism will respond to centrifugal force.

10. In a fluid borne craft, a variable pitch propeller including a hub, a plurality of blades ad justably carried by said hub, centrifugally responsi e servo mechanism mounted on said hub for turning said blades about their respective axes, said servo-mechanism deriving its power mechanically and including actuating means rotatable about an axis transverse to the-axis of rotation of said propeller, means for continuously rotating said actuating means upon movement of said craft, pitch-varying means generally permanently connected to the roots of said blades, and centrifugally responsive means rotatable about an axis in alignment with the axis of rotation of said actuating means for establishing temporary direct connection between said continuously rotated actuating means and said pitchvarying means, and manual-control means for varying the rotary speed at which said servo mechanism will respond to centrifugal force.

11. A variable pitch propeller including a. hub, a plurality of blades adjustably carried by said hub, servo mechanism carried by said hub for automatically maintaining generally constant rotary speed of the propeller by increasing the blade angle with any increase of speed above a predetermined speed setting of the propeller and for decreasing the blade angle with any diminution .of speed below a predetermined speed setting of the propeller, said servo mechanism including a pair of continuously rotatable driving clutch members, means for simultaneously continuously rotating said clutch' members, a centrifugally responsive driven clutch member adapted toindividually irictionally engage either one of said continuously rotatable driving clutch members, resilient means opposing the centrifugal force acting upon said driven clutch member, and automatic means operatively associated with said resilient means for limiting the turning of the propeller blades about their respective axes in either direction to predetermined angular limits, and manually operable means extending into the cockpit andoperable while in flight. for varying the effectiveness of said resilient means, thereby to permit the blades to be rotated into predetermined angles or pitch settings at the will of the operator and irrespective of the automatic means limiting the turning of the propeller blades.

HAVE-AND H. PLA'I'I. 

